Drainage device for railway cars



Dec. 6, 1955 w. E. HICKS DRAINAGE DEVICE FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed Oct. 30. 1952 1 Patented Dec. 6, 1955 2,725,893 DRAINAGE DEVICE FOR RAILWAY CARS William E. Hicks, Webster Groves, Mo. Application October 30, 1952, Serial No. 317,800 3 Claims. (Cl. 137-350) This invention relates to drainage devices for railway cars, and more particularly for the brine from the ice bunkers of refrigerator cars.

Among the several objects of the invention may be noted the provision or a drainage device, particularly for ice bunkers of refrigerator cars, which will positively ing; and the provision of a device of the class described which is simple in construction and economical to maintain in a trouble-free condition. The invention is an improvement upon prior-art structures such as shown in U. S. Patent 2,441,292, dated May 11, 1948. Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the structures hereinafter described, the scope of the invention being indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which one of various possible embodiments of the invention is illustrated,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of one end of a refrigerator car (shown in dotted lines), indicating the application of the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section taken on line 22 of Fig. 1, parts being shown in elevation;

Fig. 3 is a vertical detail section taken on line 33 of Fig. 2; and,

Fig. 4 is a horizontal detail section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.

Disposal of the drainage of brine from the ice bunkers of refrigerator cars has presented difliculties, in that the drainage falls or is blown onto the running gear and the rails, and corrosion of these parts rapidly occurs. This is particularly serious in the case of the rails, the lives of which are rapidly reduced by such corrosion. Moreover, rail joints and connections, which are often depended upon for electric signalling currents, also rapidly deteriorate. The resulting necessity for early replacement is costly.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, there is shown at numeral 1 the outline of a refrigerator car body. The wheels are shown at 2 and the rails at 4. The body is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 and in solid lines in Fig. 2. At the ends of such a car are carried ice bunkers 3, one of which is shown at one end of a car. When such bunkers are iced, salt is also included to melt the ice so as more rapidly to extract heat from the contents of the car. The result is the production of salt brine requiring disposal. Each bunker generally has two drain outlets 5, each respectively located near a corner of the car adjacent the trucks (not shown) which connect the wheels and body. Thus there are four outlets on a car, one near each corner and not far from the rail line.

Normal gravity flow. of brine from the drainage outlets,

particularly when broken into a spray by relative air a motion as the car moves, settles on the running gear and the rails, causing the deterioration above referred to.

My invention consists in the provision of an outwardly sloping drainage pipe 7 which is attached to each outlet 9 of the drain outlet 5. At the lower end of the drainage pipe is an outwardly sloping ejector or jet tube 11 which, relative to the drainpipe 7, has a small diameter. The ejector tube carries its ontlet'13 adjacent to the side of the car and well clear of the rails and the runninggear. The

45 position shown for the center line of the pipe 7, 11 is preferable, thought not limiting. The plane of pipes 7, 11, 15 and 21 is preferably perpendicular or normal to the car length.

.Assuming said angle of 45 for the center line of the pipes 7 and 13, there is attached at 45 to the drainage pipe 7 a preferably horizontal air inductor pipe 15 which extends inward from the side of the car. The pipe 15 extends into the drainpipe 7 where it is provided with an outlet 17. Air may flow from the pipe 15 into the drainpipe 7, and brine may pass from the outlet 9 around opening 17 to the ejector pipe 11. Since pipe 15 extends into pipe 7, its upper part 18 acts as a bafiie to inhibit flow of air towards the drain 9. However, brine drainage may pass the baflle.

Attached to the air inductor pipe 15 (preferably although not necessarily by means of a swivel connection 19.) is the trunk 21 of a horizontal air scoop member 23. Two branched scoopsare shown at 25 and 27, respectively, which merge into the trunk 21 at the junction or branched connection 29. At this junction is located a valve flap 31, pivoted at 33 and adapted in response to pressure of inflow of air through scoop 27 to assume the solid-line cut-01f position for scoop 25, as shown in Fig. 4. It may move into the dotted-line position upon inflow of air through the scoop 25. Thus when air flows into one of the scoops it is inhibited from passing out of the other, being forced rather to move through the trunk 21, pipe 15 and into the pipe 17. Here it effects air outflow from and some pressure on the ejector pipe 11. When the car is moving, drainage from the outlet 5, which enters the upper end of the jet pipe 11, is thus forcibly ejected with a spurt from the lower end 13 of said pipe 11, the trajectory of which clears the running gear and rails. When the car is stationary, the effect due to air pressure disappears and the drainage will drip from the opening 13, still clear of the rails and running gear. The plane of the scoops 25 and 27 is preferably substantially horizontal.

The swivel connection 19 permits quick removal of the scoop member 23 to eifect any cleaning required within the device, and upon installation to place the plane of the scoops 25 and 27 in the preferable horizontal position beneath the car. Flow of air through the device due to motion of the car will be effective in either direction of car movement.

It will be clear that, instead of placing the scoop member 23 under the car, it may be placed on the side of the car and a suitable connection substituted for 15, 21 between the scoop and the drainpipe 7. However, the position under the car, as indicated, is preferable because it does not increase the clearance dimension of the car and is in a relatively protected position from possible clogging by the direct entry of snow and ice under winter conditions.

Exemplary (though not limiting) inside dimensions illustrating the proportions of the parts are as follows: pipes 7, 15 and 21, approximately two inches; and jet pipe 11, approximately one-half inch, the latter being about six inches long. These dimensions are mentioned to emphasize the feature that the pipe 11 is small enough relative to pipe 7, so as to tend to form slugs of brine, along with a relatively high velocity of entrained air, thus providing the spurting effect from the opening 13.

It is to be understood that while the apparatus has been described as a drainage device for refrigerator cars, it would have use in connection with other cars where analogous drainage problems are involved.

In view of the above, it will be seen that my invention provides in a convenient, protected and accessible position a drainage system for brine outlets of refrigerated cars; and one which, when the cars are in motion in either direction, will produce an air ejection effect upon the drainage, which more positively throws drainage clear of the running gear and rails; and which when the car is stationary allows the drainage to fall completely clear of the running gear and rails.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention; are achieved and other advantageous results attained.

As various changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. A drainage device for refrigerator ears, comprising angled means forming a drain pipe having a downwardly directed inlet and a laterally directed outlet, said pipe having a comparatively small tubular portion of substantial length forming said outlet, the plane of said angled means being transverse to the center line of the car, said tubular portion sloping laterally outward relative to the car trucks and rails, a lateral air inductor pipe under the car having at one end an inlet connection with said drain pipe, the upper portion of said connection intersecting the passage in said drain pipe so as to deflect downward liquid drainage around the intersection and substantially to constrain flow of air through the angled connection from said inductor pipe to said small tubular portion, whereby inducted air is adapted to spurt liquid drainage under pressure through said tubular portion.

2. A drainage device for a refrigerator car body, comprising angled means forming a drain pipe having a downwardly directed inlet and a lateral downwardly sloping outlet, said pipe having a comparatively small tubular portion of substantial length forming said outlet, the plane of said angled means being transverse to the center line of the car, said tubular portion extending laterally outward relative to the car trucks and rails, a lateral air inductor pipe under the car having at one end an inlet connection with said drain pipe, the upper portion of said connection intersecting the passage in the drain pipe so as to deflect downward liquid drainage around the intersection of the inductor pipe and substantially to constrain flow of air through the angled connection from said inductor pipe to said small tubular portion, whereby inducted air is adapted to spurt liquid drainage under pressure through said tubular portion, and an air scoop assembly constituted by inwardly and oppositely directed air scoops having a second and branched connection with and forming a common inlet for the other end of said inductor pipe, said scoops respectively facing in opposite directions to car movement and with said air inductor pipe lying substantially in a horizontal plane beneath the car body.

3. A drainage device for a refrigerator car body comprising means forming a drain passage having a downwardly directed inlet and a laterally directed outlet, said passage having a comparatively small tubular portion of substantial length forming said outlet, said tubular portion extending laterally outward relative to the car trucks and rails a distance adapted to drip clear of them when the car is stationary, a laterally directed air inductor pipe located under the car having at one end an inlet connection with the drain passage, blocking means above the connection adapted to deflect drainage past the connection while substantially blocking air flow therefrom, so as to provide a pressure chamber between the blocking means and said tubular portion, whereby movement of inducted air is converted to pressure in said chamber adapted to spurt liquid drainage under pressure through said tubular portion, and an air scoop assembly constituted by op positely directed air scoops located under the car and adapted to collect and move air to said drain passage while the car is in motion in either direction to produce said pressure, whereby spraying action of drainage on trucks and rails is minimized during car movement.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

